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EDUCATION PHILANTHROPY DIVISION OF ASCENDIUM EDUCATION GROUP

Resource Library

Sharing knowledge is at the heart of our mission. Explore Ascendium’s growing library of publications that examine the complex challenges facing postsecondary learners, and how we’re helping our partners address them.

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ResourceThumbnail SeekingSTEM Hope4College

Seeking STEM: The Causal Impact of Need-Based Grant Aid on Undergraduates' Field of Study

July 2018
Prior research often points to students' lack of preparation for the shortage of STEM majors. This Hope Center paper investigates an alternative explanation: resource constraints.
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Podcast How to Improve College Placement Using Multiple Measures

Podcast: How to Improve College Placement Using Multiple Measures

July 2018
Can community colleges boost graduation rates by switching to multiple measures assessments of incoming students' readiness? Ascendium committed $1 million to help 10 Midwest colleges select and implement MMA, guided by MDRC and partners.
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ResourceThumbnail MultipleMeasuresGuide MDRC

Defining Misplacement: Multiple Measures Assessment

July 2018
Can community colleges boost graduation rates by switching to multiple measures assessments of incoming students' readiness? Ascendium committed $1 million to help 10 Midwest colleges select and implement MMA, guided by MDRC and partners.
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ResourceThumbnail MakingSummerPayOff CABS MDRC

Making Summer Pay Off

July 2018
How can postsecondary institutions encourage more students to enroll in summer courses? Will that improve their academic outcomes? MDRC’s Encouraging Additional Summer Enrollment project explores these questions to encourage more students to enroll in summer courses.
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ResourceThumbnail BuildAPromisePlayBook CollegePromise

College Promise Campaign Playbook: How to Build a Promise

June 2018
A resource for elected city and county officials to build College Promise programs for their communities.
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2018 Ascendium Grantee Perception Report

2018 Grantee and Applicant Perception Report

June 2018
We’ve found that one of the best ways to identify areas for improvement is to ask those who know us best—namely, the grant partners we invest in.
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2017 Ascendium AnnualReport

2017 Education Philanthropy Report: Building on What Works

January 2018
We believe in leveraging existing knowledge to evaluate and support strategies that are most likely to have an impact. By building on what works, we can help more students complete their credential.
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ResourceThumbnail Boosting Summer Enrollment with Behahioral Science MDRC

Ecouraging Additional Summer Enrollment

September 2017
Promising results show colleges that encourage summer enrollment can help students earn more credits toward their degree. This second MDRC brief recaps both study phases and highlights the impact of proven strategies for increasing summer enrollment.
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2016 Ascendium Annual Philanthropy Report

2016 Education Philanthropy Report: Shared Success

January 2017
We believe that improving completion rates requires focus on both students and institutions—with success being their shared goal.
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Screen Shot 2020 05 21 at 1.10.18 PM

2012-2015 Emergency Grant Closing Report

February 2016
Best practices from the three-year, nearly $1,500,000 grant to fund Ascendium’s (formerly Great Lakes’) first-ever emergency grant program.
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2015 Ascendium Annual Philanthropy Report

2015 Education Philanthropy Report: Overcoming Barriers to Graduation

January 2016
Our 2015 Philanthropy Report highlights the three distinct and purposeful funding approaches we use, and details several grants we made over the past year.
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ResourceThumbnail ImprovingAccuracyRemedialPlacement CCR

Improving the Accuracy of Remedial Placement

July 2015
About half of entering college students take at least one remedial course; of those who take any, the average is 2.6 courses. This is part one of CCRC’s practitioner packet on improving remedial placement.
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